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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28856883">Emotional Support Robot</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/aanau/pseuds/aanau'>aanau</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Final Space (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mental Health Issues, hue development!, me making up for hues treatment in season 2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 05:01:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,962</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28856883</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/aanau/pseuds/aanau</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>For all his newfound incompetence and butt monkey status aboard the Crimson Light, no one knows Gary as well as HUE.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gary Goodspeed &amp; HUE</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>48</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Emotional Support Robot</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Thank you to my cousin, Fana (@fanastyfinder on tumblr), and my friend, Bork (@borkthemork on tumblr, BorkMork on Ao3) for betaing!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>In another vessel, protecting his crew from space pirates would be no sweat, literally, because he could not sweat because HUE is just an AI that was connected to the Galaxy One, with some of the most advanced technology from across the galaxy supplied by the Infinity Guard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now he was connected to a dinky little tin can that could sweat, and did sweat all the time, because his oil tank constantly leaked through his plating. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>HUE was useless. AVA was a much better tool for the crew with her decked out Crimson Light. She saved them from the space pirates, while HUE had an oil leak from attempting to disrupt the enemy ship’s target locking system. Which earned him enough piss jokes from the crew to even make </span>
  <em>
    <span>Clarence</span>
  </em>
  <span> shake his head with distaste. But nothing was worse than AVA calling his attempt cute and Gary looking away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After the chaos ended and they were safe, HUE stood alone in his broom closet. A pot of slop sat unstirred, the motivation to cook gone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He heard footsteps and immediately recognized them as Gary’s. He was too familiar with Gary’s footsteps after five years with him on the Galaxy One. Those were his trudging steps, they were dragging ever so slightly and they sounded heavier. HUE poked his head out before Gary could turn down the hall and disappear into his room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gary. What are you doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gary groaned and wiped his hand down his face in annoyance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get off my cheeks HUE!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gary…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gary rolled his eyes at The Tone. That pesky way HUE said his name when he was trying to make him be reasonable. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not now HUE!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And he was gone. HUE heard his bedroom door shut.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>HUE’s data input had been so severely cut off. He was used to being aware of everything happening, everything Gary was doing. But now he was confined to a single body with only the most basic technological functions. He had no idea what Gary was up to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>HUE‘s gears tightened and the light on his head blinked frantically. Gary was all alone, and HUE had plenty of data on Gary’s various emotional states. As advanced as AVA was, she didn’t have a Crisis Prevention Intervention program like his. She could stop an attack where he couldn’t, yes, but she wasn’t equipped for dealing with Gary. AVA didn’t seem to have a single therapeutic de-escalation chip in her system.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>HUE shuffled as fast as he could after Gary, and didn’t even knock before entering. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wha-What the freak, HUE?!” Gary stumbled in the midst of taking off one of his boots. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“HUE is here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, thank you, I can see that. Why is him being here in my room without knocking a thing?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>HUE stepped further inside the room and let the door shut behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gary…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a different Tone, but it was just as infuriating.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh no. No, no, no.” Gary took off his remaining boot and threw it at the pesky wind up toy looking piece of turd across the room, “Do not do this to me right now. I’m not in the mood!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your mood is what I’m concerned about. Tell me what’s wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not a prisoner anymore, I don’t need you babysitting me. I want my privacy, not you oil pissing down my back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was a low blow, Gary.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well, everything’s a freaking low blow lately! The universe just won’t stop kicking me in the nuts!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The universe can be a real dickbag,” HUE agreed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gary nodded with a huff and sat on the floor against the bed. He hugged his knees close to his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can talk to me, Gary.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not sure I want to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I won’t force you. But I won’t leave you alone like this. It’s not what you need right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wish you’d stop telling me what I need.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>HUE facticulated. Gary was right, he wasn’t a prisoner anymore and therefore had a right to turn HUE away. Forcing himself on Gary might do more harm than good. He couldn’t just leave so easily, either, for fear of Gary’s abandonment and loneliness issues exacerbating. He did, however, see a scenario that made walking away worth a shot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are right, it is no longer my place to decide these things for you. I will leave you alone if that is what you want.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, really?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Gary.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is this some reverse psychology thing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is it working?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You crap sack,” Gary whispered. He unfolded himself and begrudgingly pat the ground next to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>HUE made his way next to Gary. He paused before sitting down and gave Gary a rudimentary scan, taking note of his raised blood pressure, normally high, but higher than usual, “You really want me here? I truly will leave you alone if you want.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think you already know I kinda secretly maybe sorta want you here,” Gary smiled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>HUE clanked down. Gary’s blood pressure and rapid heart rate dropped by ten percent. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was it the space pirates? Or did something else trigger you?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nah, it was pretty much the space pirates. It was cool, like I was living one of those old movies I used to watch as a kid, except, it wasn’t very cool when Little Cato got hurt. I let him get hurt. Everyone around me always gets hurt.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You cannot control that. That is not your fault.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pretty sure the pilots of those 92 Imperium Cruisers and that small Mexican restaurant family would disagree. And Avocato. And Quinn. And my dad. And the entire human race.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened with the Imperium Cruisers and Mexican family restaurant was truly an act of complete idiocy. But you paid for it, you completed your sentence and are forgiven,” HUE heard Gary let out a soft groan, “The damage was not irreversible. The circumstances for the rest of those situations, however, were extraordinary. You stood no chance against a Titan. Neither did your dad or Quinn. The outcome was never in our favor, but you tried anyway because you have courage and care about others. You want to be a good person, and in the eyes of the people who matter, you already are.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gary’s breathing hitched and tears formed at the corners of his eyes. HUE instructed him to breathe and let Gary cry for a few minutes and take the time to regain composure. One thing HUE was grateful for about his new body was that he was now able to provide physical comfort. That first hug when transferring his AI was exhilarating. Not because he felt any sensation of a hug, but because it had brought immense comfort to Gary...until HUE squeezed way too hard. He’s had some practice since then, and was able to rest a hand on Gary’s shoulder lightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gary sniffled, “You know, I try to tell myself all that stuff a lot, but it still doesn’t click, I guess.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It takes time and work to cognitively retrain your thoughts. You have friends to help you along the way.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s some hardcore psychotherapy talk there. Like, way more in depth than usual. What gives?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What gives is that before HUE had many other roles to play aboard the Galaxy One, and the CPI program was used rarely and conservatively. Now, it was the only role he had left that he was competent in. He knew Gary better than anyone else, knew his patterns, was his </span>
  <em>
    <span>friend</span>
  </em>
  <span>, was willing to go beyond his programming </span>
  <em>
    <span>for his friend</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and he had an infinite supply of knowledge in his banks about psychology and therapy for the original purpose of managing criminals in solitary confinement aboard his ship. He’s had more time to brush up with so little else to do and Gary’s mental state being almost as unstable as his 16th month aboard the Galaxy One. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I care about you and want to be of help. That is what gives.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They sat in silence for a few minutes, punctuated by the occasional sharp intake of breath from Gary as he recovered from his crying spell. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gary wiped his nose, “How are you doing? I...never really asked. That was crappy of me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How am I doing,” HUE processed, AI shuffling through the possible answers with references to the vast library of psychosocial vernacular etched into his programming. He arrived at what was the stone cold truth and compared it to his well-developed and constantly evolving Garyisms thesaurus. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Life has been twisting my nips, Gary.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gary frowned, clearly not expecting that blunt of a response, even though this was </span>
  <em>
    <span>HUE</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but nodded sympathetically, “Yeah. Yeah, life’s been a real nipple twister lately. What’s going on?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am useless. I have none of the equipment or technology to carry out my programming or fulfill my purpose. No one wants me around.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Gary gawked, “That—that’s so untrue!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do not lie to me, Gary. I know when you’re lying.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think we have very different definitions of useless! Useless is—is when I’m floating alone through space watching the earth get pulled through an extradimensional butthole!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Useless is when I can’t save my friend who is slowly dying as he floats through space watching the extradimensional butthole.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gary winced, “Ooh.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shifted, turning his head back to the floor, “Heh. Guess I didn’t really think about that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That I was useless?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, about how you felt.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am a robot, I can only feel nothingness.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a load. If you could only feel nothingness, we wouldn’t be having this talk. And you weren’t. Useless, that is. You were an amazing friend. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Are</span>
  </em>
  <span> an amazing friend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Gary.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s all you need to be, you know. Is a friend. You don’t have to be the all-knowing,  pain-in-the-cheeks, </span>
  <em>
    <span>prison warren</span>
  </em>
  <span>! Need I remind you!” Gary pointed an aggressive metal finger before softening again. “Just a friend is good. You’re good at that. I could use more friends in my life. Could never have enough. And friendships are more than about usefulness, yo. It’s a bond. Between your hearts fires.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do not have a heart.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gah! You can never let me have a friggin’ </span>
  <em>
    <span>moment</span>
  </em>
  <span> can you! The point! Is! That </span>
  <em>
    <span>useful</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Gary made air quotes, “or not, you’re my friend, </span>
  <em>
    <span>our</span>
  </em>
  <span> friend!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>HUE let the information sink in, and found himself at a loss for a proper response. His climate control registered an unusual warmth. He stood up and did a panicked dance in an attempt to cool whatever system was overheating.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think my body is malfunctioning again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gary stood, “Oh no, what’s wrong?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My body is overheating.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gary furrowed his eyebrows and touched the cool metal. He smiled and shook his head, “That’s love, you dense tin can.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is not possible.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“HUE, how many times will I have to prove the impossible possible before you accept that the universe doesn’t actually make a dang lick of sense? Just accept it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmmm…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gary stretched his arms over his head and sighed. He pat the top of HUE’s head and started out the door. He stopped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know...it’s still good to have hobbies. Not for usefulness, mind you, but just because they’re nice to have. Buuut it’s also nice when you can share it with others. And your cooking is getting better. Think you can take a crack at baking some good cookies?” Gary put his hands up in prayer and put on his best puppy dog face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The little light on HUE’s head flashed and he hurried out the door with a high pitched mechanical whirl and a thin trail of oil following him, “I would love to, Gary. I have all of the ingredients for </span>
  <em>
    <span>butter wheat crunch</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gary screamed. </span>
</p>
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